Inner Demons (Book Eight of the Silver Society)

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Finding Carolyn turned out to be surprisingly easy. The tracking spell led them straight to her.

"There's no way this isn't a trap," Arnie said.

"Agreed," Cassandra added.

"Everyone be careful. Stay together. Slayers, guard the others. Evan, guard Lou Anne," Aideen said. "If anyone tries to touch her, shoot them."

"Gladly," he replied.

They entered the building together. No one appeared to be present. When they reached the basement, however, the smell of sulfur and blood mixed together was impossible to miss.

"Oh, hey you guys," a voice said in the darkness. "I was hoping someone would show up to rescue me."

"Deanna?" Beth asked in confusion.

Sure enough, the head of Bishop High School's Wiccan Club was sitting in the basement. Her usual smile didn't meet her eyes and her energy seemed off.

"This is the part where we escape, right?"
Deanna Church replied.

Beth moved to untie her, but Arnie grabbed her hands. "Don't," he cautioned. "That's not Deanna."

"Of course it is," Deanna argued. "Love and light!" She seemed to choke on the words.

Jade looked around for a minute before grabbing a small whip from nearby. "Jade, no! Don't whip her!" Randy cried in alarm. "It's not her fault she's possessed."

"Relax," Jade replied. "It's a scourge, not a whip. And I know what I'm doing." She snapped the scourge in the air all around Deanna while reciting a spell softly.

Deanna began misfiring. The sparks coming from her hands were completely out of her control for once. Jade increased the intensity, continuing to whip the air around her but never touching her.

Finally, Deanna let out a scream before slumping over. "Is she okay?" Beth asked in concern.

"She's fine," Jade replied. "The demon isn't. I just banished it."

"Did you just do an exorcism?" Melissa asked in shock.

"No. An exorcism is an elaborate and dangerous ritual generally performed by Catholic clergy. I just de-possessed her. It's safer and can only be done this easily when the demon hasn't settled in yet. Most of the time, the process takes nine days. It helps that Deanna's a ball of light and she electrocutes things almost as much as Shooter does. She was trying to kick it out on her own."

"Would the nine-day process work on Alex?" Randy asked hopefully.

"I don't think so. That demon's too powerful. We need something stronger to get rid of it."

"I found Carolyn!" Lou Anne said, getting their attention from another corner of the basement. "She's hurt and unconscious." She pulled Carolyn into her arms protectively.

"I can heal her," Dylan volunteered. He knelt beside them and set to work.

"What about Deanna?" Beth asked softly.

"She's not hurt," Aideen said as she examined her. "I think they just brought her here as a trap figuring we wouldn't expect her to be possessed."

"They were right about that," Melissa replied.

Carolyn groaned as she began to regain consciousness. "Lou?" She asked in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Did you think I'd leave my best friend kidnapped and in trouble?" Lou Anne replied.